Carload bracing spur cleat



Feb; 15, 194.9. w. T. PEYTON 46H67 CARLOAD BRACING SPUR CLEA'I` Filed Nov. 22, 1948 7 vf/ M f/ ff fa f fd/2 1 di? *J5/fJ7 f5 Ww' TP f ///f/Z/ Au V@ m fyi/S JAW ff v ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 15,1949

- l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE l L n ,y @2,461,767 'l cARLoAD BRACING SPUR CLEAr Willian; T. Peyton, Dallas, Tex.

Application November 22, 1948, vSerial No.-v 61,347

' 1 claim. (o1. 10s-369) This invention relates to devices for stabilizing freight shipments, especially lin railroadcars and it has particularreference to improvements in what is generally known as spur cleats.

With the advent of Diesel powered railroad locomotives, therspeed of trains has materially increased, resulting in a corresponding increase -in dislocated and broken shipments, caused chiey by insecure anchorage inadequate to resist the tremendous centrifugal force imposed kthereon while the cars are traveling around y curves, not to mention the shocks and. jolts to which the freight laden cars are subjected in switching and other necessary railroad operations.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a carload bracing cleat of extremely Simple and economical construction supplanting the conventional wooden blocks which latter are objectionable for a Variety of reasons, notable among which is the fact that these blocks, while requiring considerable manual labor and skill to place and secure, they split easily under excessive lateral strain, permitting the shipment to yield to movements of the car. In addition to this condemning characteristic, the heavy spikes employed in anchoring the wooden blocks do irreparable damage to the walls and floors of the railroad cars which soon deteriorate to such condition that they will refuse to retain spikes driven therein to hold the blocks.

Another object of the invention is to providev a substantially chair-shaped, heavy steel body delining a shipment abutting portion and an anchoring portion, the latter possessed of downwardly directed prongs whose angular relationship with the said anchoring portion of the body is calculated to preclude or resist lateral displacement of the latter, the said prongs being supplemented by auxiliary holding means such as nails or screws insertable through apertures both in' the shipment abutting portion and the anchoring portion. l

Still another object of the invention is to rprovide a carload bracing spur cleat which will minimize installation costs, reduce dunnage and will alford maximum anchorage of shipments'for indenite periods of time since, 'unlike wooden blocks, the cleat can be used many times without deterioration. 4

With the foregoing objects in view, the invention has further reference to certain features of accomplishment which will become apparent as the descriptionl proceeds,-taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

' shipment.

Figure 1 is a front elevational View of a carload bracing spur cleat constructed according to the present invention.

Figure 211s a plan View.

Figure 3 is a view in vertical section, and

Figure lisa side elevational view. i f

This'application is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No. 765,049, filed July 31, 1947.

Continuing with a more detailed description of the drai'ving, reference numeral I0 denotes 'generally a right angle steel body Whose upright portion Il provides a shipment engaging plate having apertures passed nails, lag-screws or the like to secure the For reasons which will become apparent, it is preferred that the metallic plate from which the body II) is fabricated be not less than three-sixteenths of an inch in thickness. rEhe right angular or anchoring portion lI3 of the body is formed with two prongs I4 of substantially square cross-section, one at each outer corner and their longitudinal axes, in turn, are in a plane at right anglesto the plane of the anchoring portion I3 of the cleat, yet their individual planes are differentially disposed in relation to the plane of the anchoring portion or base plate I3 of the cleat in` order toresist lateral and longitudinal slippage or displacement.k The plate I3 too, has a series of nail or screw receiving apertures I5 therein.

The body l, in the form illustrated, is Droduced by rst bending the metallic plate transversely at its approximate midsection to provide the two legs H and I3; the leg il forming the load engaging portion of the body While the other leg i3 constitutes the oor anchoring portion thereof. The two free corner portions of the latter portion are bent downwardlyy substantially normal tc the anchoring portion to form the sharpened prongs I@ whose angle of bend is disposed obliquely to the leg II or load engaging portion of the cleat. The upper portions of the prongs M; are cut away after bending in order,

l2 through which may be of the latter is often necessary through premature splitting while the cleat of the invention is immune to deterioration and, since its body strength is not dependent upon bulk, maximum anchoring eieet of the nails is obtained and for the same reason, a considerable saving in weight is realized by the shipper who otherwise must pay for dunnage, railroad tare or dead weight on which no revenue is earned.

To install the described cleat, it is necessary only to properly locateva freight shipment in a railway car whether it consists. of crates, boxes, barrels, lading on skids, pallets or other merehandise such as bulkheads, barricades and grain doors which serve to retain uncrated commodities. The described cleat is positioned in such manner that the portion II will bear against the shipment or barricade as the case may be,

after which the prongs III are driven into the floor or wall of a car. Subsequently, nails or screws are driven into both the crates or barricades through 'the apertures I2 and I5 of the body portions II and I3 respectively.

Manifestly, the construction as shown and describedis capable of some modification and such l modication as may be construed to fall within the scope and meaning of the appended claim is also considered to be within the spirit; .and intent of the invention.

What is claimed is:

As a new article of manufacture, a carload bracing spur cleat comprising a relatively thick metallic plate body having a thickness of not less than 1% of .an inch, and bent entirely across the plate at an angle forming two legs, one leg forming a load engaging portion and the other leg forming a substantially rectangular floor anchoring portion, the two free corner portions of the latter portion being bent downwardly substantially normal to the anchoring portion and forming sharpened prongs adapted to penetrate the floor or Walls of the car, the angle of the bend of the prongs being thereby disposed obliquely to the load engaging portion, and said load engaging and anchoring portions of the body having openings therein for receiving anchoring means auxiliary to said prongs, the upper portions of the prongs being Acut away after bending, whereby the major portions of the entire vprongs will be of substantially square cross-section and of vconstant shape and size. f

WILLIAM 'I'. PEYTON.

No references cited. 

